Exploring how to strengthen low-income students’ transitions to — and through — postsecondary institutions.

Our Approach

Note: This pilot concluded in 2018, and we will share more in late March 2019.

We made these pilot grants because in today’s economy, Californians increasingly need a college degree or other postsecondary credential (e.g., certificates for jobs like childcare, paramedics, and more) for a good job and/or to move up.
Yet, the transition from high school to postsecondary education is a challenge for many young Californians, especially those from low-income families.

Without structured pathways and support from mentors, peers, and social networks, even students that make it to college often struggle to complete a credential. To strengthen student transitions to — and through — college, we have:

Supported regional partnerships among high schools, community colleges, and California State Universities to structure seamless transitions between institutions (read more here about our Bridging the Gap effort along these lines)

Expanded innovative approaches that help students acquire credentials faster, such as dual enrollment (earning college credits while in high school) and reforming college remedial programs that unintentionally hold students back

Provided young people with personal supports and/or tools to navigate their pathways between high school and postsecondary education

Grants

In 2016, we announced more than $2.8 million in new funding to support these organizations.

A 10-month $300,000 grant to support the state's 113 community colleges to transform remediation to increase student completion and equity, through an entity such as the California Acceleration Project.

A two-year grant of $600,000 to support remediation reform through faculty networks in the community college system, via an entity such as the California Acceleration Project. Also approved was a two-year grant of $762,000 for the California Guided Pathways Project, which supports statewide scaling of a national reform movement to better structure experiences for community college students.

A two-year grant of $500,000 to strengthen college success for low-income students in California by expanding the Students Rising Above College2Careers Hub. The Hub is an integrated online/in-person college support model that combines online community, information, and personalized relationships to support students from high school graduation through college completion.

A two-year grant of $600,000 to expand uAspire’s Succeed program in California, in order to support high school graduates on the path to college completion. The Succeed program provides financial education for college success and includes in-person and text-based advising around financial aid renewal, balancing school and work, budgeting/money management, credit card debt and scams, and preparing for loan payback.

A two-year grant of $500,000 to support a partnership between Get Schooled, the California Student Aid Commission, and University of Southern California to expand direct-to-student communication tools around financial aid.

A two-year grant of $500,000 to support efforts in the Salinas Valley to strengthen partnerships between local high schools, Hartnell College, and CSU Monterey Bay, in order to ensure a smooth transition to postsecondary institutions for high school graduates.

An eighteen-month grant of $300,000 to increase the number of students who obtain a substantial amount of college credits while attending high school through high quality dual-enrollment opportunities in California.

A one-year grant of $400,000 to support the Just Equations project, which analyzes and offers solutions related to math curricula, policies, and pathways to increase equity and eliminate barriers to postsecondary success.